In Kalamazoo, Michigan 54-year-old Anthony Oliver boarded a Metro Bus on Saturday, November 27th. According to investigators, Oliver stepped onto the bus and immediately opened fire on its unsuspecting occupants non-fatally wounding three people. Kalamazoo Police responded within minutes at 9:15 AM to the shooting in progress.
Police chief Vernon Coakley told Fox 17.
“We don’t have any information on that. We just know Mr. Oliver arrived here at the Transportation Center. It happened on a bus There’s Mr. Oliver walked on the bus and began shooting. Okay, that’s what he did”
The Kalamazoo Transportation Center Shooting
Police engaged Mr. Oliver shortly upon their arrival and fatally shot him. The officers attempted to provide medical intervention and transported him to a local hospital where he later died and was identified. “Then the next thing I started walking and by the time I got to the corner I heard boom boom boom,” Ron Oneal told Fox 17. Mike Kirish told Local12, “I heard boom, boom, boom,” Kirish said the shooter then went inside the Kalamazoo Transportation Center.
“The shooter was standing five feet away from me with the gun and he looked at me and he waved the gun,” said Kirish. “My heart was pumping, I was scared for my life.”
According to CBS3, Police Officers opened fire upon Oliver when he emerged from the building with his weapon drawn.
Mayor David Anderson of Kalamazoo posted to Twitter regarding the shooting, “Over the weekend, a tragedy unfolded in Kalamazoo that left three community members injured, one dead, and many more suffering. The investigation of this incident is ongoing, but we already know the devastating impact that violence leaves in its wake.”
Bus service was suspended for the day due to the investigation as was Amtrak service causing travelers to bypass the Michigan city. According to Local12 “Travelers that arrived by train said they were rattled by this tragedy.
“We’re just not safe, I don’t know what’s going on, I don’t know what’s happening to our wonderful little community,” said Linda Vanderberg, a Kalamazoo resident and train passenger. “It’s just really sad, you’re going to be afraid to come out here and there’s fear. It’s like everywhere you do you have to watch yourself now.”
